Small business owners overwhelmingly cite cost as the main barrier to improving job quality, but when we asked workers what they valued most, many of their top answers cost relatively little. That gap between owner perception and worker priorities is one of the most actionable findings from the final evaluation of Shared Success, an initiative by the Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program (with support from the Gates Foundation) that worked with 11 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to embed job quality programming into their existing small business support.
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What it Takes to Improve Small Business Job Quality: Midterm Findings from Shared Success
Small businesses in the US employ nearly two-thirds of workers earning low wages, making them central to both economic mobility and the quality of work itself. Shared Success, launched by Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program with support from the Gates Foundation, is built on the premise that job quality is fundamental to economic resilience, particularly in historically underserved communities. The project worked with 11 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to embed job quality support into their programming.
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Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden